


An Adventure That Comes With a Breathtaking View

by flyboykirks



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Actual Dad Chris Pike, All-Knowing Archer, Co-Conspirator Spock, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Families of Choice, Found Family, M/M, Oblivious Bones, Slow Build, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-03-11 19:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13531308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyboykirks/pseuds/flyboykirks
Summary: When Chris Pike finds James T. Kirk in a bar in Iowa, he decides to forgo his usual recruitment speech and just asks what it'll take to get Jim to come back to San Francisco with him; to his surprise, Kirk wants nothing more than to no longer be a Kirk. Which, naturally, leads to Chris deciding the kid should marry a certain curmudgeonly doctor he's just recruited out of Georgia....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is 100% an excuse to write a Proposal-esque McKirk while also writing a love letter to the father-son relationship that Chris and Jim deserved to fully explore in the AOS. unbeta'd, mistakes are my own.

Christopher Pike sighs heavily at the PADD in front of him, and squares his shoulders back before turning toward the beaten and bloody kid nursing a beer at the table behind him. “So,” he starts, “James Tiberius Kirk. Hell of a thing.”

Kirk, to his credit, does little more than lift his beer in acknowledgement before taking another swig. “And who exactly are you, Captain?”

Chris arches an eyebrow in a move he’ll never admit he’s borrowed from his colleague, Commander Spock. “Nice to see you know enough about Starfleet that you can count the pips on a shirt,” he says wryly.

Kirk laughs at that, and Chris tries to ignore how harsh and humorless the sound is. “I know a hell of a lot more than that, sir.”

At this, Chris sits down across from the kid, and signals the barkeep for a beer of his own. “I have any number of recruitment speeches I could give you, kid, up to and including dragging out what your father managed to do in his time in the chair, but something tells me that’s not going to be enough here.”

“I dunno, man,” Jim drawls, “you could try. Not saying you have much of a chance, but you could try.”

Chris takes a deep swig of his drink, and plonks the bottle down on the table with a resonating thud. “How about you just tell me what you’d need to join up.”

Kirk tilts his head and squints, a feat Chris imagines isn’t easy given the bruise blooming around one eye, and the small cuts near the other. “Why do you want me so badly, Captain Whose-Name-I-Still-Don’t-Know?”

Chris laughs and lifts his drink in concession; “It’s Pike, son. Captain Christopher Pike. For now, let’s just stick with Chris.”

Jim clinks his bottle against Chris’s and takes a sip. “Okay, Chris. Why is Starfleet suddenly interested in little ol’ me? It’s not like I’ve been off their radar, what with the whole Tarsus IV incident. But they start building their new flagship and I’m supposed to believe it’s sheer coincidence you’re here recruiting me?”

Chris takes another swig, considering. “Fair points all around, Kirk. Honestly, I’m surprised you’d mention T-4; last I saw you, you were kicking and screaming and denying medical attention.” He watches as the color drains from Kirk’s face, and the cockiness previously visible in his eyes fades away. “Yeah, kid, I was on the Farragut during the rescue mission. I never set foot on the planet, but I was there in the room as they beamed the survivors up. You probably don’t remember, but you actually kicked me so hard in the face that you--”

“Broke your nose! Holy shit, that was _you_?” Kirk winces apologetically and hesitates before shrugging. “Serves you right, you tried to pull me away from my kids. Anyway, T-4 is just another in a series of fucked up things I’ve dealt with. No point denying it. But you still haven’t told me why you’re after me now.”

“Honestly? I had no clue where you were. I just came in to get a drink before heading back to the Academy tomorrow, found a couple of my cadets in a brawl with a local, and broke it up. Wasn’t til the barkeep said your name that I even realized what was going on.” He pauses to take a drink, and signals for another. “As for recruiting you...like I said, I’ve got any number of speeches I can give. How your father didn’t believe in no-win scenarios, and I think that’s something Starfleet’s lost. How you’re the only repeat offender I’ve ever met with a genius IQ. Or even how I feel like I owe you - _Starfleet_ owes you - something better than being mopped up off the floor of an Iowa bar.”

Jim swipes Chris’s beer, as his own is now empty, and takes a deep pull before passing it back. “One condition then, Pike.”

Chris leans forward, trying to hide his eagerness. “Name it.”

“Make me anyone but George Kirk’s son.”

“I….what?”

Jim shrugs, extending both his arms before dropping them dramatically. “You and I both know that if I roll into the Academy with you, everyone is going to assume I’m only getting in on my name. Forget the fact that I have a genius IQ, forget my several doctorates and aptitude tests. Nobody will see past my name. Help me change it and hide my past, and I swear I’ll be the model cadet.”

Chris sighs heavily and gulps down the last of his beer, before perking back up with a sudden thought. “I can’t just falsify your records, son,” he says, holding up a hand as Kirk begins to droop in response. “But, if you were married, I could file a simple piece of paperwork that seals all of your records prior to marriage, save your school and aptitude results.”

Jim laughs, and says, “No offense, old man, but I’m pretty sure you being my sugar daddy won’t do much better for me in terms of accusations of nepotism.”

“Not me, you buffoon,” Chris laughs. “First of all, my husband would protest. Secondly, you are absolutely not my type.”

Jim waves his hand, a smile still on his face. “I’m everyone’s type, Chris, but okay. Who then?”

Chris grins, wolfish this time, knowing he has Kirk in his grasp, and realizing he has the perfect candidate who would also benefit from sealed records. “His name is Leonard. Doctor Leonard McCoy….”


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard McCoy had never thought he’d agree to join up with Starfleet. For one thing, there was the whole aviophobia thing, and for another, he never had been one to give in to defeat of any kind. Yet, here he was, sitting on an uncomfortable bed in a run-down motel in bumfuck, Iowa, waiting for the sunrise and the final concession in the long-standing turf war with his now ex-wife. Just as he was settling into the itchy material of the topsheet, there was a brief, yet frantic knock at his door. With a grunt, he stood, and shuffled toward it, grumbling out a rough, “‘M comin’.”

He swung the door open and frowned bemusedly when he was greeted by Captain Pike and some punk looking kid covered in blood and bruises. “Captain, what can I help you with?”

Pike takes that as an invitation to enter, and does just that, breezing past McCoy and sitting down on the lumpy couch at the far side of the room; Kirk follows close behind, but stands to just to the left of Pike rather than sitting beside him. “You’re going to want to close the door for this, McCoy,” Pike says, voice tinged with no small amount of humor.

Leonard closes the door slowly, one eyebrow perched toward his hairline. “This have anything to do with all those scrapes and bruises?” he asks, gesturing toward Kirk.

Jim shrugs and says, “I’ve had worse, Doc.”

“This _is_ about the kid, McCoy, but nothing to do with his medical state. Actually, I’m here with a proposition for you.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to need a drink for this conversation?” Leonard grumbles. “What exactly are you here to propose, sir? I’ve already let you talk me into joining Starfleet at my old age. What do you want now, my liver? ‘Cause, I gotta warn you, she’s seen a fair amount of whisky in her time.”

“Your liver’s a _she_?” Jim asks, a shit-eating grin stretching wide enough to cause his lip to split back open.

Quick to stop any sort of disagreement before he's even able to make his pitch, Chris swats at Kirk to silence him before sending an apologetic smile towards McCoy. “Leonard McCoy, meet James Tiberius Kirk. Kirk, this is Doctor McCoy. I believe the two of you have one very important thing in common.”

“Yeah, what’s that?” Leonard asks suspiciously.

“Both of you would do better in Starfleet with your personal lives left firmly in the past, where nobody can use them against you. Leonard, you nearly lost your medical license for performing doctor-assisted suicide for your father, in a situation where any other son would do precisely the same. James here is the son of George Kirk, and one of the sole survivors of Tarsus IV. All of these things will be used against the two of you at the Academy, by your instructors and peers alike.”

Leonard sighs and sits on the edge of the bed. “Not really seeing a solution here, sir.”

“Well, McCoy, while falsifying records and even simply expunging them is deeply frowned upon at Starfleet - to the point that my colleagues who envy my being named Captain of the newest flagship would use it as reason to call me up on court martial - there does happen to be a singular loophole that I am looking forward to exploiting,” Pike says, the smirk on his face turning into a full-blown grin.

Leonard stands abruptly, and goes to the mini-fridge, pulling out two beers; after he hands them to Jim and Chris, he grabs a flask from under his pillow, and takes a swig. “Okay, Pike, I’ve given you enough blind trust to this point, and I haven’t forgotten that Starfleet is a political organization at heart. Spare me all your big city mumbo jumbo and give it to me straight.”

Chris tips his bottle to Leonard and nods. “Fair enough, Doctor. You and Cadet Kirk here need to get married. Tonight. It’s the only way I can legally and completely seal your records. Jimmy here will take your name to avoid the Kirk legacy, and you’ll get to enter the field with some of the most brilliant minds in medicine without a single one knowing anything you don’t want them to.”

Leonard looks over at Jim, who just shrugs and takes a sip of his beer; when he looks back to Pike, the Captain is looking at him as passively as Leonard has ever seen his face. He contemplates his options for little more than a split-second before knocking back a deep swig from his flask. “All right. Anyone know of a 24 hour chapel nearby?”


	3. Chapter 3

Jim reluctantly allows Leonard to do some clean-up work on his face - particularly upon his split lip and the eye that has nearly swollen shut - and concedes that it would probably be best if he wasn’t covered in blood at their wedding. As they slip into the bathroom together, Leonard armed with a clean shirt for Jim, and Jim trying to not look too much like a deer in the headlights under the doctor’s careful gaze, Chris moves to sit at the desk, a PADD in each hand. The one in his left is pulling up the pertinent documents for sealing McCoy and Kirk’s pasts, and the one in his left is making an attempt at dialing a connection to the colleague he has preemptively chosen to be his First Officer on the Enterprise.

The Vulcan, for his part, answers the call quickly after it finally makes a connection - shoddy service in the motel being what it is - and not a single hair appears to be out of place, despite the rough quality to his voice upon greeting Chris that makes it evident he has just been roused from his sleep. “Captain,” he says, “What can I do for you?”

“I need you to run a search for me, from a discreet server - encrypted if you can manage. In fact, make it untraceable, to me or to you,” Chris says, eyes on the paperwork he’s quickly filling out on the other PADD, which he now holds in both hands, the one filled with Spock’s visage now propped up against the wall.

Spock’s face grows brighter on the screen, the only evidence of the fact that he, too, has pulled up a second PADD, fingers moving so quickly across the screen that not a sound is heard. “I have a secure and encrypted connection, Captain. What search do you require me to perform?”

Chris does look up at this point, and says, “I need you to find me the nearest twenty-four hour chapel to my current location, which I have just pinged to you via this call.” Chris maintains eye contact with Spock the entire time he relays the order, watching carefully for any sign that Spock is shocked by the request, or will decide he can’t perform this duty. He finds none, and yet, because Spock has become a good friend of Chris’s, he is able to notice the almost imperceptible tremor near his eyebrow, as if he is suppressing the urge to lift it toward his hairline, as he is wont to do.

Spock stares at Chris for little more than a few moments before turning his attention back to his secondary PADD, and begins searching. After a few beats, he looks up once more, and for the first time since Chris has met the Vulcan, he is sure he sees hesitancy playing on Spock’s features. “Captain,” he says slowly, all sleep-roughness gone from his voice, “I do not wish to question your tactics - ” 

“But you’re wondering why I need this information at such a late hour, and under such extreme discretion,” Chris finishes.

“As your First Officer and Chief Science Officer, it is not only logical, but imperative that I be able to fully understand and parse the intricacies of how you think, Captain.”

“Fair enough, Spock,” Chris agrees. “Long story short, I have one recruit who is willing to join up, his past life be damned, and another promising recruit who wants to hide everything leading up to the moment he’s joined the ‘Fleet.”

Spock does allow his eyebrow to lift this time, albeit only slightly. “Of course. The only way to seal someone’s records is through form KZ2.3-A.”

“Exactly,” Chris says, tapping his second PADD with a flourish as he finishes filling out the last line they’re able to input without the signature of the justice of the peace. “Gotta love the old-school ‘Fleet regs. The form is practically defunct at this point, since we rarely need to actually recruit, and in fact often turn away potential Cadets, but they never actually retired the rule. Hitch 'em up, literally, to a model Cadet to ensure their compliance with the rest of the 'Fleet's regs, and in exchange for the marriage, all records are sealed. 'Course, they wrote the rule in case there were any, ah, reformed criminals who would be of good service to the ‘Fleet, not necessarily brilliant doctors who behaved like any ordinary human or legacies who don’t want to have to live up to impossible standards. The good news is, there's a neat little box on these forms that allows the marriage to serve the purpose of expunging the records of both people in the union, since the so-called model Cadets who were willing to marry like this were often trouble makers who'd never see an extra pip on their sleeves without their fresher records from the academy being erased."

“And so your case both requires and allows you to exploit this weakness to its fullest extent,” Spock muses. “I suppose I can see the merit in using Starfleet’s own rules against them. As plans go, it is not entirely ill-advised. As _your_ plans go, I would even venture to say it is among your better ones.”

Chris barks out a laugh at that, and shakes his head. “For all your talk of emotion being a human trait, Spock, you sure do like to surprise me with your ability to snark with the best of us. Anyway, talk options to me.”

Spock nods curtly and looks down to the PADD on his lap. “There is a twenty-four hour service chapel just fifteen minutes down the road from your current location, Captain. I estimate that, should you leave your location within the next seven minutes, you will be able to complete the union between your recruits, send the requisite paperwork along to Admiral Archer, and return to your motel for a few hours sleep before you are due to board the shuttle back to the city.”

“Well then,” Chris says, looking away to see a distinctly cleaner Jim emerging from the bathroom, “I suppose we’d best be on our way. Boys, if you’re ready.”

Jim comes bounding over toward Chris and leans in to look at the PADD that is still displaying Spock’s utterly impassive face. “Holy shit, Chris, your XO is Spock? _The_ Spock?”

Once again, Spock lifts a single eyebrow; “Have we met, Cadet....?”

“Kirk, James T., but soon to be James McCoy. And, no, we haven’t, but dude. You’re the first Vulcan to turn down the VSA and defect to Starfleet. There’s not a ‘Fleet kid around who doesn’t know you.”

“I see.”

“It’s meant to be a compliment, Spock,” Chris says placatingly. “I’ll be sure to introduce you two properly once we get back, but, kid,” he adds, turning toward Jim, “we gotta get going here if we’re going to have everything done by the time we get back to ‘Frisco.”

Jim flashes a Vulcan salute to Spock - whose shock is betrayed only by a quick blink - and moves toward Leonard. “You got it, Cap. We’re all set,” he says, playfully grabbing at the doctor’s hand.

Leonard grumbles something about handsy, reckless, space cowboys, but allows Jim to link their fingers together, and, for the first time since he put the plan in motion - though he would deny ever having had any doubt if anyone asked - Chris finally, _really_ believes his plan could work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've never actually written spock before....hopefully he came out okay! also can you tell i really want to tell this whole dumb story scene by scene in real-time??? WHY SKIP A SINGLE MOMENT IF IT MEANS I CAN MAKE ALL OF THEM BOND, JA FEEL? still unbeta'd, all mistakes still my own. 
> 
> PS i love all of your comments, please keep 'em coming, they're really helping me keep churning this out so quickly!!! 
> 
> PPS i completely fabricated the form and the reasons for its existence but let's be honest - in the early days, when the 'Fleet was at war with Klingons and such, they would probably take anyone they could get, especially if they had something good to contribute to the cause. a form like this, that seals your past and allows you to start from scratch wouldn't be at all unlikely from a governmental body like Starfleet, especially pre-UFP.


	4. Chapter 4

Chris quickly leads Leonard and Jim toward the rental car he’s been driving around while doing his recruiting in Iowa, and manages to refrain from rolling his eyes at Jim insisting he sit in the backseat with his “betrothed,” though he does allow himself a small grin at Leonard’s mumbled, “Dammit, Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a damn Southern belle.” They get about halfway to the chapel before Chris realizes that Jim is softly humming a song to himself.

“Got yourself an earworm there, Jimbo?” he asks, glancing at the rearview to make eye-contact.

Jim laughs, loud and bright, and Chris notes there’s a faint blush on Kirk’s face. “A what now? Just how old are you, Chris?”

Chris playfully swings an arm back to swat at Jim, and says, “You know damn well what I’m talking about, you menace.”

Jim dodges Chris’s hand by shoving himself flat against Leonard’s side with a giggle. “Yeah, but you’re so much fun to wind up. Anyway it’s just a dumb song I heard once.”

“Care to share with the class?” Chris asks, wryly. “The radio in this damn rental is busted, and we’ve got another ten minutes of silence ahead of us, kiddo.”

Jim shakes his head frantically, and says, “No way, man. It’s stupid and embarrassing.”

Leonard nudges Jim with his shoulder, and says, “Oh, don’t tell me you’re getting shy on us now, Jim. Or are you secretly a bad singer? Because that might be a deal-breaker for me.”

Jim sticks his tongue out at Leonard, and says, “Actually, I’m a _great_ singer. It’s just a really dumb song.”

“Aw, come on, darlin’,” Leonard says, voice dripping with faux-sweetness as he throws an arm around Jim’s shoulders. “We won’t make fun, I promise.”

Jim pulls away from Leonard with a half-hearted shove. “Fine. It’s just… _goooooin’ to the chapel and we’re....goooooooonna get maaaaaa-arried_ ,” he croons softly. “Told you, it’s dumb,” he adds, his ears a little pink at the tips.

Chris laughs and glances back in the rearview again. “You know, Jonny -- that’s Admiral Archer to you two -- sang that same damn song when Phil and I told him we were getting married. I actually haven’t heard it since then, but it’s a good little jingle.”

Leonard grunts his agreement. “Oddly fitting, too. I can see why it’d pop into your head right now.”

Jim shrugs and slouches a little in his seat. “Okay, are we done picking on me now? Just, y’know, it is my wedding night,” he mumbles.

Leonard reaches over and pats Jim’s leg. “Aw, hell, kid, we’re not trying to be mean. And you’re right, you do have a nice singing voice. We nearly there, Pike?”

“Just about,” Chris affirms. “About two minutes out.” He reaches for the PADDs on the seat next to him and tosses one each to Leonard and Jim. “I’ve gone ahead and filled out most of the paperwork for the both of you, but give it a glance and make sure it’s all accurate. As soon as you’re married, the justice of the peace will sign them, and I’ll send them along to Jonny.”

They ride the rest of the way in silence, except for each of the boys letting Chris know their paperwork has been filled out accurately, and before they know it, the car is pulling into the parking lot of the chapel. They clamber out in silence, and Jim, rather than clinging to Leonard playfully as he has done all night, goes and stands close to Chris, tugging gently at his arm.

Chris slows his gait, so they’re a few steps behind Leonard, who seems to get that Jim needs a moment before they head in. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” Chris asks gently.

“This is going to work, right?” he asks, voice soft and eyes downcast. “I mean, I never really thought I was going to get married anyway, but I always thought if I did there’d be a really good reason. So...this is a good reason, isn’t it? It’s going to work?”

Chris puts his hands on Jim’s shoulders and squeezes tight. “James,” he says softly. “Look at me, son.” Jim looks up, and Chris bites back a sigh at how scared the kid looks. “I promise you, this is going to work, and Admiral Archer is going to file this paperwork personally, which means not one single person is going to be allowed to see the details except for him.”

“How can you be --”

Chris squeezes his shoulders again. “I can be sure, son, because Jonathan Archer is my best and oldest friend, and his greatest joy in life is finding ways to circumvent ‘Fleet’s absurd requirements. Plus, he owes me somewhere around a million favors.” He takes a risk and shifts forward to pull Jim into a hug; after a few beats, Jim hugs him back. “I try not to make promises I can’t keep, kiddo. This is the best and easiest way to seal your records, and I will do whatever it takes to make it work.” He pulls away, back to holding Jim by the shoulders, and tilts his head down slightly to look Jim straight in the eye. “If you’re asking me if I think this is worth getting married, then yes. Because you are worth more than the shitty existence life left you to. You deserve to find your way to something better, and I do believe Starfleet can guide the way for you. After all, it’s in your blood.”

Jim tilts his head down and subtly swipes at his eyes before leaning forward to bump his head under Chris’s chin. “Okay, Cap. Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coming up: the actual wedding! "space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence"! a comm from one Admiral Jonathan Archer! Jim and Bones meeting Spock! and more fun I haven't really thought out yet!
> 
> still unbeta'd, all mistakes still mine
> 
> loving the feedback, keep it coming! (let me know if you catch any tense mistakes, I tend to do that a lot and not catch it until later!) ok love u, see u soon


	5. Chapter 5

Chris slings an arm over Jim’s shoulders and they head into the chapel where Leonard is waiting patiently, quietly conversing with the justice of the peace. He turns when he sees them walk in, and makes eye-contact with Chris first, who gives an almost imperceptible nod. Leonard turns his attention to Jim then, and lifts a casual eyebrow. “Everything good?” he asks.

Jim flashes him an easy grin; “Right as rain.”

“You sure, kid?” Leonard asks amiably. “We ain’t gotta do nothin’ you’re not good with.”

“Nah, I’m good. Just had a couple of logistical questions for Chris,” Jim bluffs; Leonard, for his part, at least has the good grace to outwardly make like he believes Jim.

Chris, who had up to this point been pretending to not be eavesdropping while getting the last of the details squared away with the justice of the peace, turns back to look at the boys. “Okay then, boys, let’s get this show on the road. We’re on a tight schedule here if we’re going to get everything filed and processed before we touch down in a few hours.”

They begin heading into the private room where the ceremony itself will actually take place, nearly making it all the way to their designated spots before Jim stops dead in his tracks and loudly exclaims, “Wait!”

Everyone freezes, and Chris bites back a groan. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” he asks, resisting the urge to lift a hand and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Do we have rings?”

Chris nearly sobs in relief, and if the subtle deflating that Leonard seems to do is any indication, he’s holding back a similar reaction. “We can get some later, son, it’s not a big deal.”

“Actually,” Leonard drawls, a look of realization dawning over his features, “I have some.”

Jim and Chris slowly turn to look at Leonard, and Chris finds he doesn’t even have the energy to question it; McCoy just shrugs.

“Still got my old one, and I’ve got my dad’s on a chain ‘round my neck. Couldn’t stand to bury it with him,” he says, as though he isn’t offering up two literal pieces of his life, each of them carrying their own mythos. “Ain’t no point paying for something when we’ve got some perfectly good ones right here.”

Jim walks up to McCoy slowly, and holds out his hand as Leonard presents the rings. He turns them each over, gently and carefully examining their every surface; he’s relieved when he notes that neither of them appear to have any sort of inscriptions on them. “Okay,” he says softly, “We can use these, but only on one condition.” He looks up from the rings, and, unblinking, stares at Leonard. “You have to keep your dad’s.”

McCoy has apparently figured Jim out by now, because he doesn’t seem the slightest bit surprised by the kid’s quiet intensity, nor the sincerity in his voice. Instead, he just takes his old ring from Jim’s hand and says, “Deal.”

Once again, Chris chokes back what he is pretty sure is a full-on sob, as he realizes this means they can _finally_ get this whole thing done. “Okay,” he says, gesturing rapidly at the two, “that was touching and all, but we are operating on a deadline here, gentlemen.”

Once the actual service is underway, it’s all astonishingly simple. Jim and Leonard opt for the basic vows, promising fidelity and care and honor and all those good things that people always hope they’re capable of in a relationship, and when they exchange the rings, Chris could almost swear they’re each more emotional than they would have anticipated for a fake relationship. Leonard, he surmises, is still holding onto a lot of ghosts with regards to his father, and Jim outright said earlier that he never thought he’d get married. Whether because it wasn’t for him, or because he couldn’t bear to risk losing someone the way Winona did, Chris is unsure, but regardless, the actual realization of the fact that they’re doing this seems to have caught him off guard in this final moment.

Vows are complete, rings are exchanged, and Chris finds himself feeling the need to look away as the two share the requisite kiss to seal the union; it feels private and personal, this first-ever kiss between these two men who were complete strangers just hours prior, like there’s something sacred at work and it’s not Chris’s place to bear witness. As soon as they part, he hands the PADDs to the justice and has him verify the unions, uploading the official marriage certificate; once they’re all in, Chris sends it along to Archer, and prays the man is as light a sleeper as he remembers.

“Thank you,” he says to the justice, before turning to the newly minted McCoys. “All right, boys, we should get back and catch as much sleep as we can before the shuttle in the morning.” They pile back into the car in the same arrangement as before, and this time, for reasons known only to each of them, they’re more than happy to make this ride in total silence. They pull into the parking lot, and Chris smiles at their backs as the two head toward Leonard’s room. No sooner than he’s stepped into his own room, does his PADD start alerting him to a comm. With a groan, he pulls it out, and checks who is calling him; he quickly glances at his wrist, and sees its 0200 hours.

Hesitantly, he answers. “Oh, good, Chris, you _are_ in fact awake, alive, and not being forced to personally fuck with my entire existence by waking me up at the most ungodly hour in order to file a fucking ancient form that will help you sneak _the only living son_ of Federation _hero_ George Kirk into the academy. Here I was concerned you’d been taken over and impersonated by a Suliban,” Jonathan Archer manages to say all in one breath.

Chris drags a hand over his face and opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off; Archer, it seems, is not finished. “Seriously, Chrissy, you want me to hide this kid using the most old-school reg of all time?” When Chris nods, Archer’s face stretches wide with the most shit-eating grin Chris has ever seen. “I’ve taught you well….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyyyy sorry it's been a couple of days since the last update! things are really getting underway at school in terms of the semester fully kicking off, so i'm basically writing bits and pieces in little pockets of time and then typing them up when i get around to it
> 
> anyway i hope y'all like this chapter!!!!!
> 
> still unbeta'd so if you catch mistakes be a real one and lmk
> 
> i PROMISE the next chapter has jim and leo meeting spock!!!!! and phil!!!!
> 
> anyway love u see u soon hopefully xoxoxo


	6. Chapter 6

Chris’s entire body relaxes at Jon’s words; though he’d sworn to Jim that Archer would help, he couldn’t _really_ guarantee it. With a sigh, he puts the PADD on the bed and reaches for his suitcase to pull out his sleep-clothes; as he pulls on a pair of sweatpants, he calls out, “Please, _please_ tell me this is going to work, Jonny. It’s the only thing I could come up with.”

Jon laughs, and Chris climbs into bed and props the PADD up on his knees. “It’s already done, kid, there’s nothing to worry about. Well, the admiralty might call us up on this because nobody’s used a KZ2.3-A pretty much since I first started out with the ‘Fleet,” he adds, completely nonchalant. “Anyway, the Academy is pleased to welcome the newly minted James Middle-Name-Redacted McCoy in all his ambiguity. How did you track him down anyway?”

“Would you believe I scraped him off a barroom floor? Literally?”

“George Kirk’s son?” Jon says sarcastically. “You don’t say.”

“I forgot,” Chris says, “you were George’s ac-ad, weren’t you?”

Jon laughs heartily. “That kid was a fresher nightmare. Got into pub fights every other week until he decided he wanted to date Winona. Now that there was a young woman who could bend entire planets to her will if she ever decided to.”

“She absolutely could,” Chris agrees. “Wonder what she’s up to lately.”

“Did the kid not mention her?” Jon asks. “Last I heard, Nogura said she got a posting somewhere in deep space.”

“Now you mention it, I remember hearing that too,” Chris says, mouth working its way into a frown. “Quite frankly, I didn’t think to ask after her. Just asked the kid what it was he needed from us to sign on. Jim’s aptitude tests are so off the charts I would have done whatever it took to recruit him regardless of if he was a Kirk or some random Iowan.”

Jon nods in agreement; “I skimmed his files before I sealed off the shit he wants private, and honestly, I’m impressed. And I’m not easily impressed. The kid’s somehow got a real knack for just about everything. He recognize you yet?”

Chris sighs, knowing where the conversation is now heading. “He actually mentioned the fact that he was one of the T-9 without any prompting from me so I figured if he’s not shying away from that, at least in small company, I owed it to him to be equally as forward. Soon as I mentioned my nose, he remembered.”

“You know, sometimes, when you’re being a real pain in my ass, I like to picture what you must have looked like, getting kicked by an emaciated kid hard enough to break your nose so thoroughly that Phil was very seriously concerned as to whether or not he could set it right,” Jon says, a wistful look overtaking his face. “Musta been a helluva sight.”

“You’re a goddamn asshole, you know that, Jonny?”

Jon laughs. “Yeah, well today I’m the _asshole_ who was rudely woken up at 0200 and let you live anyway,” he says amiably. “Just wanted to let you know you’re clear for arrival on both your boys. Luckily for original flavor McCoy, his whole case with his father was never big enough to leave the town he grew up in; apparently it’s not just ‘Fleet doctors that close ranks. His record was easy enough to seal, and there were very few pieces of news on that front to eliminate from the databanks. Your boy Kirk was even easier to hide, seeing as he vanished from all ‘Fleet records after T-4 and took all of his aptitude tests under the name of J.T. Davis. Apparently,” Jon says sourly, “Winona’s brother was his primary caregiver while she was off-planet back before Kirk was sent to Tarsus. He made the call to ship him out, and it almost looks like the kid took his name as a sort of ‘fuck you’ to the uncle who thought he wouldn’t amount to anything.”

Chris sighs heavily and drags a hand down his cheek. “Of fucking course there’s more to the story than Jimmy was willing to offer up…. Still, that’s a hell of a ‘fuck you,’ scoring off the damn charts on all those aptitude tests. I assume you noticed he’s also just a few credits shy of several doctorates?”

Jon nods. “He’s a hell of a recruit, Chris. You just make sure you bring him to me when you get back in. If he’s anything like his old man, it’s gonna take a village with this one.”

Chris laughs and shakes his head. “You’ve gone soft in your old age, Jon. Haven’t even met the kid and you’re already joining the family.”

“Yeah, well, I hang around you and Phil all the time for some goddamn reason. Kid’s gonna be family whether I like it or not. But he’s definitely won some brownie points by letting me fuck with the rest of the admiralty.” Jon glances at his bedside clock and nods back at Chris. “I’ll let you sleep now, Chris. See you in a couple hours.”

The transmission ends abruptly and Chris slides down in his bed, tossing the PADD to the side and letting the exhaustion of the evening pull him into sleep.

* * *

All too soon, his PADD is chiming with an alarm to get packed up and head to the shipyard for the shuttle back to the city; when he exits his room, he’s greeted by the newly minted McCoys, each of whom are clutching a cup of coffee. Jim reaches behind his back to the hood of Chris’s rental car and offers up a third cup.

“Figured you’d need this as much as we did,” he says, a bashful look on his face.

Chris eagerly grabs the cup and slings an arm around Jim’s shoulders. “God bless you, son,” he says dramatically, taking a long sip. “Now, gentlemen, once more unto the breach!” he exclaims.

Jim groans and half-heartedly tries to pull himself out from under Pike’s arm. “Oh, god, you’re one of those guys who constantly makes dad jokes, aren’t you? Is it too late to take it all back? Bones, how do you feel about an annulment?” he whines.

Chris and Leonard both laugh, loudly, and Jim grumbles some more under his breath about _”ganging up on me”_ and _“old men,”_ which only makes the two laugh harder. “You bet your ass I’m ‘one of those,’ Jimmy-boy. Also, what did you just call Leonard? Bones? What’s that about?”

They pile into the car, Jim in the passenger seat, Leonard sprawling contentedly in the back. “We stayed up pretty much all night getting to know each other so that our fake marriage would be more believable and he was telling me how he’s an aviophobe. To which I - naturally - responded with laughter. I mean, who the hell is afraid of flying and joins _Starfleet?_ You’re literally constantly flying if you’re posted to a ship, and like. It’s not even normal earth flying. You’re flying in the black. And then he tells me his ex ‘took the whole damn planet in the divorce’ and how all he’s got left is his bones. Ergo, Bones.”

Chris glances back at Leonard in the rearview and chokes back a laugh at the deep scowl on the man’s face. “I like it,” he says, laughter evident in his voice. “It’s pithy. It’ll be a damn help too, with you both being McCoys now. Jimbo, you’ll be McCoy, and Leonard will be Bones. Phil’ll like that too, a physician called Bones.”

They pull up to the shipyard, and Chris tosses the rental keys to one of the workers. “Drive it back for me, will you, Oscar?” he asks. When Oscar nods, Chris grins. “I owe you a drink next time I’m out here.”

They board the shuttle, and Chris heads into the cockpit, leaving the two men to find seats among the other recruits; from his seat up front, he can hear them bickering about the flight, and he snorts as he hears Bones warn Jim that he might puke on him.

* * *

When they land in San Francisco, Chris hurries to grab the boys, guiding them toward the alcove where Spock is awaiting them. “Spock, I’d like you to meet the McCoys. This here’s Leonard,” he gestures, “and you’ve been informally introduced to Jimmy already.” Leonard simply nods curtly, while Jim claps Spock on the shoulder.

“Good to meet you, dude,” he says, either ignorant to or unbothered by the way Spock seems to stiffen slightly under his touch. “Thanks for agreeing to keep my secret, man, I know Vulcans don’t like to lie since it usually goes against logic to hide things from people.”

Spock stares at Jim for perhaps a moment too long before nodding curtly. “You are welcome, Cadet McCoy, though it is not wholly for you that I agreed to keep the secret.” Abruptly, he turns toward Pike. “Captain, if you are ready, there is a shuttle waiting that will take us directly to Medical, where Doctor Boyce is waiting for us.”

Chris grins widely, and mimics Jim’s gesture of clapping Spock’s shoulder. “Lead the way, Mr. Spock.”

* * *

The moment they enter Medical, Chris’s stride picks up in speed, and Jim and Leonard find themselves practically jogging to keep up; by the time they catch up to him in the room he’s ducked into, they find themselves overcome with the need to awkwardly look away. Chris has his arms wrapped all the way around his husband, and his head is buried against the other man’s neck; the moment, while chaste and innocent, feels altogether too intimate for their eyes. Just as they look away, Phil speaks, saying, “Sorry about this. No matter how many years we’ve been at this, it’s still hard being away from each other. Especially for this giant sap of a man.”

He laughs as he fights to disentangle himself from Chris’s arms, and pulls both Jim and Leonard into a brief hug before letting go just enough to have a hand on each of their shoulders. “Welcome to the family, kiddos. I’m Phil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE MAJOR DELAY. tons of real life shit going down, and all of my creativity was literally sapped from me due to the stress. anyway, here's a slightly longer chapter than usual as an apology!!!!! now that we're actually at the Academy, I'm really looking forward to digging into the relationships I have promised in the tags. I still don't 100% know the exact path this fic is going to take to get to the ending I want, so buckle up, kiddos! this is shaping up to be an Adventure!
> 
> still unbeta'd, mistakes still mine; obviously borrowed film dialogue is obviously borrowed; please keep at me with the comments and such!!!! they feed my soul!!!!! xoxoxo


	7. Chapter 7

Jim, much to Chris’s chagrin, takes an immediate shining to Phil. Within a few minutes, the two are cackling madly and conspiring against him, he’s sure of it. Well, as sure as he can be based on the fact that they keep bowing their heads together, whispering, looking at Chris, and cackling. Jimmy likes Phil so much, in fact, that he doesn’t even hesitate to fill him in on his entire medical history, including his time spent on Tarsus IV and the effects it had on his immune system, among other things.

Chris — and Leonard for that matter — look on in abject horror as Jim describes in blood-chilling detail exactly what he went through as the colony fell into chaos and near-extinction. He sheds his shirt the moment Phil prompts him to, with all the nonchalance of the typical knows-he’s-attractive attitude that neither Chris nor Leonard can say they’ve ever felt — or, at least, haven’t felt in years. Despite the scars that appear to literally cover his torso, Jim doesn’t flinch even a millimeter as Phil begins his examination, chattering happily and offering anecdote after anecdote about each one, the smile on his face never once shrinking or becoming bitter.

A jagged scar on his right scapula, he tells Phil, is from jimmying his way through a vent to escape after he learned his name was on the list of those doomed to die on Kodos’ orders. The thick, shiny, puckered one down his left side that curves from his back and nearly touches his belly button is from the guard who caught him stealing food for his “kids” — with all the same chipper, casual ease he’s been speaking thus far, Jimmy offhandedly remarks that said guard was the first person he ever killed. Leonard and Chris share a look, wondering who else their boy killed — given his feeling it necessary to emphasize the guard was the _first_ — but Phil beats them to asking.

“The first, Jimbo?” he asks as casually as Jim was when he offered the information. As he speaks, he moves onto listening to Jim’s breathing. “Who were the others?”

For the first time since they all met, Jim hesitates. “My kids,” he says quietly. “There were, I dunno, maybe 20 of us when we started? 9 left the planet alive. 6 of us are still breathing.”

Finally unable to keep quiet, Leonard steps forward and gently grips one of Jim’s shoulders with his left hand, the weight of his father’s wedding band providing a soothing comfort to Kirk. “You didn’t kill a single one of those kids, Jim,” he says softly. When Jim halfheartedly tries to shake Leonard off, he squeezes the shoulder a little more tightly. “I mean it, Jimmy. Hell, by all accounts you gave every one of them their best shot. Just look at you — you carry all of these scars with more ease than anyone your age should have to, never mind the fact you got all of them when you were a damn kid yourself. You gave all but your last breath to save as many of them as you could.”

Jim shrugs. “And I would have given that too if it meant they would have lived. I should’ve given that too. I could have done better.”

Phil and Chris share a dark look at that statement, and Leonard squeezes Jim’s shoulder again before letting go. Phil steps back toward Jim, and points at the worst scar of them all — big and fat and angry, right in the center of his sternum. “What did this one, Jimmy-boy?”

Jim looks down and smiles — all teeth and no humor; the three observing him can finally see the self-proclaimed killer lurking behind this grin, and a cold fury fills his eyes. “Kodos got one last shot in before the UFP finally showed up. They slapped a field re-gen on as they loaded me onto the Farragut, but I’m told that the same fight where I broke your husband’s nose tore the new skin. If I’d torn it any deeper, I wouldn’t be here today. Should’ve just let Kodos kill me when he named me on that damn list for all the good I did condemning so many of those kids to such painful deaths.”

Phil takes his hands off Jim at that, hands him his shirt, and takes off his gloves. The very second Jim is dressed, Phil pulls him into a hug, holding him so tightly that Jim can’t pull away. “Now you listen good, James Tiberius Kirk — you could not have done more or done better by those kids. You were also a kid, for crying out loud, and looking at these scars, I can tell you now with absolute certainty — you are alive but by the grace of God. You should not have lived through any of these injuries, let alone all of them. That you did is a miracle, and that you brought _anyone_ along with you enters the realm of impossibility. Something in the universe needed you to survive and so you did. Don’t you dare, for one minute more, wish you had died.”

Jim doesn’t say a word, but even Chris and Leonard can see the way he’s trembling like a leaf in Phil’s arms, his knuckles white as they clutch at Phil’s shirt with all the fervor of a boy who didn’t grow up with anyone like a father there to love him and tell him things like this.

“You did _**not**_ kill those kids, James. You did your best, and you put the entire fucking Federation to _shame_ doing what they couldn’t. You are a hero, and you’re mine, and Chris’s, and Leonard’s now, so hear me when I tell you — if you ever dare say again that you killed those kids, or that you failed them, or whatever the fuck else is hiding in your head, I will let Chris kick your ass so hard that you need surgery, _and then_ I’ll let a first-year take lead on your procedure.”

Leonard lets out a startled guffaw at the threat, causing Chris to laugh as well, and soon all of the tension has left the air. Jim hugs Phil just a little tighter before letting go, sarcastically — if halfheartedly — saying, “Thanks, Dad.”

Phil, once he’s let go of Jim, turns toward Leonard with a wicked gleam in his eye, and gestures at the table. “You’re up, Bones.”

Leonard groans exaggeratedly, and swaps places with Jim, biting back all complaints as he watches Jim scoot over enough to put his head on Chris’s shoulder. “Now, you may be my boss, Dr. Boyce, but don’t you go thinkin’ that means you c’n get familiar — my dumbass is a married man again. And I’ve heard stories about your husband there — be a shame if I had to quit the Academy all because I got my ass handed to me by an old man.”

Everyone laughs at that — and none louder or brighter than Jimmy. Chris glances down at the boy curled into his side before looking back up at his husband, who shakes his head knowingly. For better or worse, it seems, was not just a vow exchanged between the two cadets; Chris and Phil, for all intents and purposes, just became a couple of very-late-in-life adoptive fathers, and Chris can’t find it in himself to be upset about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *eminem voice* guess who's back - back again
> 
> WHAT IS THIS, AN UPDATE FOR ANTS? just kidding i literally doubled the word-count on this in transferring it from the handwritten garbage in my notebook to a gdoc
> 
> HEY THERE HI THERE HO THERE YA GIRL IS INDEED ALIVE AND THIS STORY IS INDEED NOT ABANDONED
> 
> 'tis simply on the back-burner amidst a very busy life and for that i sincerely apologize but please know I WILL SEE IT DONE 
> 
> i just don't know when and i can't even promise another update soon but i do promise to try to make it sooner than 7 fucking months!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> please let me know if it's okay, it's been so long since i wrote my boys that i'm afraid i might have lost their voices a little bit (BUT THAT JUST MEANS A REWATCH IS IN ORDER SO EITHER WAY I WIN????)
> 
> anyway love u miss u hope ur good thanks to everyone who kept commenting and waiting patiently for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u are definitely the REASON THERE IS MORE
> 
> xoxoxoox


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